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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27067177">One More Night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/elivigar/pseuds/elivigar'>elivigar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>5 Seconds of Summer (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Angst, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Emotional Hurt, Friends With Benefits, Hopeful Ending, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:08:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,951</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27067177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/elivigar/pseuds/elivigar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Calum has yet to find out what sleeping next to Ashton feels like, if he prefers to spoon or cuddle face to face or have his chest used as a pillow, if he prefers a simple breakfast or something more extravagant, if he’s grumpy in the morning or as bright and happy as always.</i>
</p>
<p><i>He knows none of those things, and he hates it, because he </i>wants<i> to know.</i></p>
<p>In which Calum isn't entirely happy and Ashton doesn't quite know how to deal with it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>One More Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My second filled prompt of the day, this time one requested by a Tumblr anon who asked for angsty Cashton based on, “Did it mean anything to you? Did <i>I</i> mean anything to you?” If you see this, anon, I hope you like it♥ Come talk to me on <a href="http://ashtcnirwin.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a> (or to request your own prompt from <a href="https://ashtcnirwin.tumblr.com/post/632229214210392064/blisfvll-prompt-list-an-phew-finally">this</a> list) if you wanna!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Calum screws his eyes shut, chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. His back feels like it’s sticking to the sheets, sweaty as he is, and he’s still trembling ever so slightly with the remnants of his orgasm. Dragging his fingers through his hair, pushing a number of sweaty strands away from his forehead, he lolls his head to the side. Ashton’s eyes are closed and he’s just as sweaty and out of breath as Calum, his expression sated and relaxed.</p>
<p>As he lies there, watching the man next to him, Calum wonders how long it’s gonna last this time. How long is it gonna be before Ashton gets up, gets dressed and leaves Calum with an easy smile and a quick, “See you soon,” accompanied by a wink? Calum knows it’s gonna happen, it’s how their escapades have ended every time they’ve gone down. It’s been almost year since they met through mutual friends, a year of hooking up on a weekly basis, and Calum has yet to find out what sleeping next to Ashton feels like, if he prefers to spoon or cuddle face to face or have his chest used as a pillow, if he prefers a simple breakfast or something more extravagant, if he’s grumpy in the morning or as bright and happy as always.</p>
<p>He knows none of those things, and he hates it, because he <i>wants</i> to know. But every time he’s tried to hint to Ashton that he doesn’t have to leave as soon as they’re done fucking, that he can stay until morning and have breakfast, that they can take a shower and watch a movie together, maybe order Chinese and eat it on the couch, Ashton just chuckles and declines.</p>
<p>“That was fun,” Ashton says eventually, blinking his eyes open to grin at Calum.</p>
<p>“Always is,” Calum says.</p>
<p>Ashton hums. “Always extra fun when you ride me, though. You’re ridiculously good at it.”</p>
<p>“Thigh muscles, baby,” Calum says as he gives his own thigh a light slap to illustrate.</p>
<p>Ashton shrugs. “My thighs are as muscular as yours, but I’m not nearly as good at riding dick as you are.”</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t know,” Calum laughs. “You’ve never been on top the few times you’ve… well.”</p>
<p>“Let you fuck me?” Ashton supplies, and Calum rolls his eyes. “Maybe next time.”</p>
<p>“You just said you’re no good at it. Why would I want you to ride me if you suck at it?”</p>
<p>Ashton gives Calum’s chest a gentle smack before he sits up. “I never said I sucked at it, I just said I’m not as good at it as you,” Ashton says as he swings his legs over the edge of the bed and bends down, reaching for his underwear.</p>
<p>Calum’s heart sinks as he watches Ashton starting to get dressed, and it’s a familiar feeling at this point, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. “You’re still sweaty,” he says as Ashton stands up to pull his boxers up. Ashton turns around to raise an eyebrow, and Calum musters up a smile. “You could wait until you’re dry before you run off, you know. I’m not gonna kick you out.”</p>
<p>Ashton smiles crookedly. “What, you want me to stay and cuddle?”</p>
<p>Calum blinks. Ashton’s tone of voice isn’t mocking in any way, but the words are, and Calum feels nauseatingly vulnerable all of a sudden, where he’s lying stark naked, stomach covered with his own cum and his ass slick with lube. Reaching for the covers, he pulls them over himself, not caring that they end up filthy and disgusting, before he makes a non-committal sound and says, “Whatever.”</p>
<p>Ashton’s smile falters as he takes Calum in. After a beat of hesitation, he sits back down on the bed, his bare legs stretching out parallel to Calum’s body. “You okay?” he asks.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Calum says, forcing another smile. The effort makes his cheeks ache.</p>
<p>Ashton’s eyes shift from Calum’s face to his neck, where a hickey is blooming, then to where his hand is fisting around the covers, hugging them close to his chest. A nervous wrinkle has formed on his forehead, and he’s clasped his hands together in his lap, twiddling his thumbs as he regards Calum.</p>
<p>“Are you still okay with this arrangement we’ve got going?” he asks after a bit. “I know you were in the beginning, but you’ve been acting a little weird when we’re done fucking lately, and you don’t seem as... into it as you used to either.”</p>
<p>Calum’s heart skips a beat, and he laughs, loud and shrill, in an attempt at drowning it out. “What, you think I’ve become bad in bed?”</p>
<p>“No, you’re as good a fuck as you’ve always been,” Ashton says, not missing a beat. “But you seem distracted more often than not.”</p>
<p>“Maybe I’ve got a lot on my mind, maybe work’s been kicking my ass. Being a radiologist isn’t as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be, you know.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, actually.”</p>
<p>“No, because you’ve never bothered asking.” The words escape before Calum has a chance to swallow them down, they tumble out, sharp and broken, and he clenches his jaw the moment they’re out.</p>
<p>“I… what?” Ashton asks after a split second of tense silence. “What’s that supposed to mean?”</p>
<p>Calum closes his eyes, and heaves a deep breath. “Nothing. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”</p>
<p>“How can I not worry about it?” Ashton demands. “You’re making it sound like I’m making you miserable, and I’d rather not be responsible for making you feel bad, so please tell me what the problem is so I can fix it.”</p>
<p>“No, it’s nothing, Ash,” Calum says, pulling the covers further up. “It’s not what… it’s not what we do, so don’t worry about it. Go home, go to bed, and I’ll see you whenever I see you.”</p>
<p>Ashton groans. “Just because our relationship is what it is, it doesn’t mean I’m a jackass,” he says. “If something’s wrong, I want you to tell me, especially if it’s something <i>I’ve</i> said or done.”</p>
<p>It’s agonising to look at Ashton, cheeks still flushed and his hair sticking in every direction after Calum spent a solid half hour tugging at it. His eyes are hooded, glowing with an emotion that Calum can’t pinpoint, and his lips are drawn tight with frustration. Calum’s chest feels like it’s about to cave in on itself, the pressure inside it threatening to crack his ribs one at the time until nothing but shrapnel is left to punctuate his heart and lungs and leave him to drown.</p>
<p>“Has this ever meant anything to you?” he asks, his voice barely a whisper. “Have <i>I</i> ever meant anything to you? Am I… am I anything to you other than a warm body to get off with?”</p>
<p>Ashton’s face falls, and it’s an awful sight to behold. Slowly, apprehensively, he lets his body sink down until he’s lying on his side, facing Calum. “Why would you ask that?” he says.</p>
<p>“Because nothing you say or do indicates that I’m anything more than… I don’t know, something to be used?” Calum says, and he <i>hates</i> how his lips tremble when he tries to smile. “You come over, we fuck, then you leave, and that’s our entire… thing.”</p>
<p>“I thought you were okay with it?”</p>
<p>“I am,” Calum says quickly. “I just… I don’t know. A little attention and kindness every once in a while wouldn’t hurt, I guess. Sometimes we hang out for a bit before we get down to business and I… I don’t know. I like it.”</p>
<p>Ashton swallows audibly, and he nods slowly. “You want something more,” he says.</p>
<p>“No, I- no, not necessarily,” Calum says. He diverts his eyes to Ashton’s chest, unable to bear looking him in the eyes for another second. “I just… I just wish you wouldn’t always run out on me the moment we’ve gotten off, like I’m the worst person in the world to spend any actual time with.”</p>
<p>“You’re not, not at all, but… that still sounds like you want more,” Ashton says quietly.</p>
<p>Calum bites his lip, hard enough to make him taste blood. “I don’t want more, not necessarily,” he mumbles. “I’m not asking you to date me or anything, I just want…”</p>
<p>“Attention and kindness,” Ashton finishes, his words echoing Calum’s own.</p>
<p>“Sometimes. Yeah. Maybe. Is that too much to ask for?” Calum asks. When Ashton doesn’t say anything, he huffs. “We’ve been doing this for almost a year, and it’s fun, the sex is amazing, but I think… I’m sorry, I really am, but I think there’s a limit as to how many times I can give myself to one person without- I don’t know. Whatever.”</p>
<p>“Yeah. Whatever.” Ashton’s breath comes and goes in a steady, albeit heavy rhythm, and he’s started to shiver as the sweat on his body is slowly, but surely cooling down. “What is it you want, then?”</p>
<p>Calum averts his gaze to meet Ashton’s. “I… not a lot,” he says softly. “Just that you stay the night every once in a while, or at least just for a bit, just to… cuddle. Or for dinner. Or a shower. Maybe let me make you breakfast every now and again. I make a mean Spanish omelette.”</p>
<p>The words leave a silence that’s so solid and tense that it could be cut with a blunt knife. Except for the steady rise and fall of his chest, Ashton’s completely still, eyes stormy as a mess of thoughts races through his mind. Uncertain, almost shaking with it, he drags his fingers along the side of Calum’s face, the nods once.</p>
<p>“Okay,” he says. “I can’t promise you anything as far as the future goes, but… I’ll stay over. Let you make me breakfast in the morning. It better be a Spanish omelette, though.”</p>
<p>Too preoccupied with absorbing the fact that Ashton agreed to stay over to appreciate the joke, Calum lets out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding in. “Okay,” he whispers. “Can… I mean, does that mean a cuddle is on the table?”</p>
<p>“Can’t say I’m the biggest fan of cuddles, but…” Ashton trails off, looking right into Calum’s eyes. “Yeah. A cuddle or two would be okay. Not until after we shower, though.”</p>
<p>And maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all when Ashton washes Calum’s hair, pressing kisses to the back of his shoulder as the hot water from the shower cascade over them; maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all when they towel each other off and fall back into bed; maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all when Ashton eats Calum out for the first time ever, making him come completely untouched, before pulling Calum in to rest on his chest, declining Calum’s had on his cock with a, “Tomorrow. That was for you, not for me.”</p>
<p>Ashton’s still there, fast asleep, when Calum wakes up around eight o’clock the next morning. He’s lying on his front, one arm flung across Calum’s waist, snoring softly into the pillow, and Calum simply lies there and admires him, how the sunlight bleeds through the curtains, making Ashton’s black hair shine and his tan skin glow. He wonders if he’ll be allowed to behold that sight more often than not from now on, or if it’s only gonna happen once in a blue moon. Though he has absolutely no idea whatsoever what the answer might be, he chooses to cling onto the hope that it’s the former as he rises from the bed and pulls on a pair of pyjama bottoms.</p>
<p>He has a Spanish omelette to make.</p>
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